Perhaps Love
by melodicResonance
Summary: NejiTen. Based on the Korean drama, Princess Hours (English), I take it & change things up a bit. Tenten is just an ordinary girl trying to be a famous artist, but when an old promise between her now deceased father & the previous King comes up, requiring her to marry the seemingly cold & aloof Crown Prince Neji in order for him to ascend to the throne, her life takes a huge turn.


**Author's Note: **Before you begin reading, there are a few things you should know—

1) I can't take 100% of the credit for this story idea, some of it is based on the Korean manhwa/drama궁 (_Princess Hours_ is the English title). If you'd like, you can find it and watch it on Hulu if you haven't seen it already! But there are a lot of things in this story that I change/make up myself, of course.

2) For this fic's purpose only, I create a few characters that are not from the Naruto series—this includes Neji's half-brother, Ayumi, the palace/court staff and servants, and Tenten's aunt.

3) Also, this takes place in Seoul, South Korea, despite them all having Japanese names, haha. I wanted to stay in the same location because being half-Korean myself, I am more familiar with it—plus, I just really liked the idea.

4) NejiTen haters/bashers are not welcome. Please, let those of us who will ship this pairing until we die enjoy ourselves without unnecessary rudeness/comments/etc. It would be much appreciated!

5) I hope you enjoy! I'm not the greatest writer in the world, but I really wanted to write this. Thank you for reading! 3

* * *

><p><strong>One<strong>

There was sudden, frantic knocking at the door. "Your Highness!"

"What is going on? Come in, Shuichi."

"Your Majesty—I…I'm sorry to say that the great King Hisashi has been killed in an unfortunate car accident."

Hiashi immediately sat up in his bed. "What?"

"Y-Your brother is dead, Your Highness…you must take the throne now, in his place."

* * *

><p>"Tenten!"<p>

She glanced up from the canvas she was currently painting on, and smiled when she saw her friends running towards her. "Sakura; Ino!" Putting down her paintbrush, she stood up and hugged her friends.

"Whatcha working on now?" Ino peered over at Tenten's painting. "Oh, it's the palace!"

"Wow, let me see!" Sakura stood next to Ino, looking over her shoulder. "Tenten, it's beautiful! Did you go visit it yesterday when it was open to the public?"

Tenten nodded, also admiring her work so far. "I was inspired to paint it as soon as I saw it. They should open it up to us common folk more often!"

"Oh my god—then did you see the Crown Prince?" Ino squealed, suddenly taking Tenten's hand in hers. "I would _die_, he's so handsome!"

"Who, Prince…Neji, is it?" Tenten wrinkled her nose. "Personally, I don't see what's so great about him."

"What? You're crazy!" Sakura lightly smacked her on the arm. "Every girl is in love with him."

"Why?" Tenten sat back down onto her stool, picking up her paintbrush. "From what I've seen and heard, he's spoiled, cold, aloof, and really needs a haircut—his hair is longer than mine!" She dipped the paintbrush into the jar of red paint.

Ino shook her head. "All righty, weirdo. That means more of him for me!"

Tenten merely rolled her eyes and smiled.

* * *

><p><em>If you didn't notice already, the name's Tenten!<em>

_ I'm seventeen years old, an aspiring artist, and my bestest friends are Haruno Sakura and Yamanaka Ino! We go to a pretty nice high school for the fine arts here in the heart of Seoul. It's for art majors…dance majors…design, film, you name it. I want to be the greatest artist in the world! But first…I have to survive high school. _-_-'

Finally, it was the end of the day, and Tenten was beyond ready to go home. As she collected all of her belongings from her locker, suddenly she heard loud screaming and cheering outside. She slowly closed her locker and peered down at the scene below from the balcony ledge.

There was a gathering crowd which consisted of mainly girls (of course), who were all screaming and whistling and making all sorts of senseless racket…all because of him.

There stood the beloved Crown Prince, Neji, who was about to get into his fancy-schmancy black Cadillac, which was surrounded by several of his bodyguards next to it. Tenten rolled her eyes at the absurdity of it all, but then looked over at Neji once more.

Okay, maybe he _was _a bit handsome. His long brown hair moved slightly in the soft breeze, and his eyes—so piercing, so strangely light and the color of lavender, looking right at her.

_Wait, what?_

_ Why would he be looking at ME? _Tenten reached up to make sure the two buns on the top of her head were in place, suddenly self-conscious. _Is he—_

Little did she know, he actually wasn't looking at her at all. Neji was staring over towards the window of the dance studio, where one of his close friends Ayumi was currently practicing.

_I'll have to ask her_, he thought to himself, and then finally climbed into the car. _Tomorrow_.

As always, he ignored the incessant cheering and screaming of the crowd behind him.

* * *

><p><strong>1 Day Earlier<strong>

"You wanted to see me, Your Highness?"

"Come in and sit, Neji." His uncle's voice echoed in the otherwise empty hallway—it was always so clear and booming. He slowly walked in and bowed slightly before sitting in the chair across from his uncle.

Hiashi resembled his father so well, he thought as he accepted the cup of tea one of the palace servants brought to him. But, especially these days, he tried as hard as he could to avoid thinking too much about his deceased dad.

"Neji, I have something really important to discuss with you."

Neji only nodded, partially dreading of what he was about to hear.

"As you know, I have no sons—only Hinata, and Hanabi." Hiashi carefully took a sip of his tea. "But there must be a new King to take my place, of course, when it is time. That is where you come into the picture."

Neji knew this already. Even though the rights to the throne had passed over to his uncle when his father had died, he was still the next eldest male in line to ascend to the Kingship. "Yes, Your Majesty."

"And the tradition is always for the Crown Prince to be wed before taking the throne."

This had been the case when Hiashi had taken over his brother's place, but unfortunately not much later his wife had died due to illness. Neji tried to remember this and be a little more considerate of his uncle as he held his tongue about his true thoughts on the idea of marriage—especially at his age, and especially since he didn't exactly want the responsibilities or title of King. That was a whole other story, however, so he remained quiet.

"Now, this _is _the twenty-first century, so we are not going to force you into anything that's arranged…if you have a girl in mind, then you need to ask her and let us know immediately. If not, however, then we _will _have no choice but to provide you with a suitable Crown Princess." Hiashi's eyes were emotionless and hard as steel, like always. "Do you understand the gravity of this situation? Please, treat it as an urgent matter. I am not going to live forever, you know."

Neji almost laughed at this, but didn't, because you could never truly tell with Hiashi when he was joking or not. "Yes, Your Highness."

"Good. You may leave now, Prince."

* * *

><p><strong>Back to the Present<strong>

"I really hate these math assignments," Sakura complained, dropping her pencil in defeat and leaning back in her chair. "Why do I need math when I'm going to be an interior designer?"

"Well, let's see," Tenten interjected, her head still stuck in her math book, pencil scribbling down formulas like mad. "You have to know measurements for the rooms and such—costs of furniture, other things…etc…"

"Oh, god," Sakura sighed, "it's unavoidable!"

"No worries, loves," Ino said, just as the bell rang. "It's lunchtime!"

"I'll meet you guys there," Tenten remarked, standing up and gathering her things together. "I want to leave this stuff in my locker."

As she headed down the stairs in the main stairwell, suddenly she heard voices. She slowed to a stop and listened carefully, trying to identify the speakers.

"Hey, Ayumi," a male voice said, "what do you think about marriage?"

_Ooh, this is going to be good_, Tenten thought to herself as she carefully peered over the railing down below, desperately trying not to give herself away.

Her eyes widened when she saw who was talking.

_The Crown Prince?!_

_ What is he doing here?_

_ And with a girl, no less…_

"Marriage?" The girl laughed. She was very pretty, with radiant skin and long raven-black hair. She was sitting next to the Prince on the bottom of the stairs. "What in the hell are you talking about, Neji-kun? We're in high school!"

"Ayumi." She stopped, and slowly turned to look at him.

"Wait—you're serious."

Neji merely stared at her, his eyes and expression as hard to decipher as ever. Tenten continued to watch and listen, holding her breath.

"Well…royals get married young, you know," he said, glancing away. "And if I don't bring back a girl of my choosing, they'll choose someone for me—I'd rather be with you, whom I've known for a long time, than some strange girl. Besides, it'd work well since we're good friends…"

Tenten covered her mouth in shock. _Oh, my God! The Prince is proposing to a girl—here at their school! _This was HUGE. She couldn't wait to tell everyone…

"Neji, you know that I can't," Ayumi replied, looking out the window next to them. "I don't want the palace life—I don't want to be all cooped up, like a doll. You know that I want to be a famous dancer one day. In order to follow my dream, I can't marry you only to have to throw it all away."

Neji only nodded slightly, glancing down at his shoes.

_Aw, look at him_, Tenten thought to herself, _he looks so dejected—look at those sad, sad eyes! I almost feel really sorry for him…so tragic_.

Suddenly, her phone began to ring—it seemed so loud in the awkward silence, almost blaring. The caller ID on the screen showed Ino's name. They were probably wondering where she was.

_Shit, shit, shit_. Tenten scrambled to turn it off, but it was too late. The damage had been done.

Neji was standing up now, looking up in alarm. Ayumi had a panic-stricken look on her face. "Neji-kun? Is someone up there?"

"Hey!"

Tenten moved away from the railing to avoid being seen, mentally chastising herself for being so stupid. _Well, as long as he doesn't see my face_…

"Hey, you!" Crap, now he was running up the stairs. And damn it, he was _fast_. Tenten knew that she was completely screwed if she didn't get the hell out of there, NOW. She made a run for it, deciding to take a little "detour" to lunch today.

"Leave me alone!" she cried as she turned a corner, almost tripping and falling onto her face.

"Get back here, little miss pigtail-buns!" He was so close to catching up—she had to do something. Soon she found an opportunity—and took it, running straight into the girls bathroom.

Neji banged on the door with his fists. "I know you were eavesdropping on our conversation, nosy! You better come out right now, or—"

Suddenly, he stopped. A small crowd was beginning to gather around him. People were staring at him strangely and whispering to each other. He slowly lowered his hand and gave up—for now, in order to save his dignity and pride.

_I will find you, pigtail-buns, _he vowed to himself, _and you will be sorry_.

* * *

><p>"Prince Neji-san?" Shuichi appeared in the doorway, and Neji glanced up from the book that he was currently reading. "The King wishes to see you."<p>

He closed his book and got to his feet, stretching out his arms and back as he did so, then wordlessly followed Shuichi to see his uncle.

"Your Highness." He gave a slight bow before sitting down in the sofa across from the King.

Hiashi slowly took off his reading glasses and rubbed his eyes before focusing them onto his nephew. He always looked tired to Neji, no matter what—it was probably the price one had to pay in order to be a good King..

"Do you have your wife and future Crown Princess picked out?"

_I don't want the palace life._

_ I don't want to be all cooped up, like a doll._

_ I can't marry you only to have to throw it all away_.

Neji felt one of his hands slowly clench into a fist by his leg, but then carefully released it. "No, Your Majesty."

"All right then." Hiashi took in a deep breath, and then reached over to pull out a box the size of a shoebox from a nearby shelf.

"You see, your father had a very good friend when he was King," he began to explain, setting the box down on the table in-between them. "Even though the friend was a commoner, he was one of King Hisashi-san's true friends. To honor this treasured friendship, before he died—they made a promise." Hiashi opened the box and pulled out a small scroll, gold ring, and what looked to be the half of a yin-yang token. He carefully offered them to Neji across the table.

"Basically, the promise was this—it allows for his friend's daughter to marry the Crown Prince, his son."

Neji stared at the ring, and then carefully unraveled the scroll to read it.

"However, she _is _a commoner—so we have been severely considering how this could affect the royal family's image and traditions," Hiashi continued, "but after much debate and consideration…it has been decided that it would be best to honor their promise—it is what Hisashi would have wanted." He pulled out a small picture from the box and handed it to Neji. "Her name is Tenten. She goes to the same school as you—an art major. She's a pretty young lady from a nice, ordinary family."

Neji slowly held the photo closer to his face, and then his eyes widened when he saw who he was looking at. Those two buns in her hair atop her head were unmistakably familiar. This was hard to miss—_it was her_.

"Again, we don't want to force you into anything," Hiashi said, "but we do need to start preparations for the wedding ceremony—and a formal announcement—"

Neji placed the picture down onto the table.

"I'll do it," he said, looking up at his uncle. "I'll marry her."


End file.
